LOVE of GOD 




Bell 



/ 




Class _...BX 

Book_.. 

Copyright N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT, 



THE 

LOVE OF GOD 



WM. M. BELL, D.D. 

General Missionary Secretary 




Dayton, Ohio 
United Brethren Publishing House 

IQOZ 



"THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Reckived 

COFVWGHT ENTWV 

CsWs ^XXc No. 

J-f-cc 3 / 



3"W 



Copyright 1902, by W. JR. Funk, Agent 
All rights reserved 



CONTENTS. 



Chapteb. Page. 

I. Love the Crowning Attribute of God, 5 
II. The Love of God in Redemption, - - 12 

III. The Love of God in Redemption— Con- 

cluded, ------- 19 

IV. The Love of God as Shown in the 

Incarnation, Death, and Resurrec- 
tion of Jesus, 26 

V. The Love of God and Human Chas- 
tisement, 33 

VI. The Love of God and the Calamities 

of Life, - 41 

VII. The Love of God and the Evangel- 
ical Appeal, 50 

VIII. The Love of God and the Unevangel- 

ized World, 59 

, IX. The Love of God in Christian Experi- 
ence, 68 

X. The Love of God and the Church, - 78 

XI. The Love of God and Prayer, - - 87 

XII. The Benediction, 94 



iii 



THE LOVE OF GOD. 



CHAPTEE I. 

Love the Crowning Attribute of God. 

The human mind is so constituted that, having 
accepted the fact of God's existence, it finds pleas- 
ure in thinking that he is a spirit, that he is 
eternal, all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, every- 
where-present, unchangeable, holy, just, truthful, 
and good. It is, however, reserved to the love of 
God to thrill the human heart with the most pro- 
found and abiding joy. In human thinking, it 
must ever be that the love of God shall stand out 
before the mind like the highest summit in a range 
of mountains before the eye. Here the mind lin- 
gers longest, is most comforted and inspired. 
Here the heart shelters and is comforted when 
temptation and trial have done their distressing 



The Love of God 

work. Under affliction, when the heart has been 
pierced with sorrows, one is infinitely bettered 
to think of God's unfailing love. Unworthy, tin- 
grateful, ill-deserving, unstable, — still God loves 
us out of the great goodness of his heart. 

Love is the principle of the divine nature which 
leads God at all times to desire the happiness and 
welfare of all his creatures. That the conduct of 
his enlightened creature may, of necessity, divert 
somewhat this divine emotion, we doubt not; and 
vet it seems clear that to the last limit of human 
probation God's compassion follows his wander- 
ing and sinful child. In so far as love stands for 
delight in one's character, it must follow that, in 
this sense, God loves the penitent, the good, the 
upright, those who follow after holiness in all 
their ways. He has, however, the deepest compas- 
sion for the erring and the sinful, even when their 
ways are offending him grievously. God is holy 
and just, but these attributes are ever tempered 
by his infinite love. Thanks be to his exalted 
name that this is true. It dawns upon us more 
and more that love is the crowning attribute of 
God. 

When that godly woman, Jane Cooper, came 



The Love of God 

down to her last illness, which proved to be the 
loathsome smallpox, she sent a note to a friend, 
in which she said, "I suffered the will of Jesus ; all 
he sends is sweetened by his love." As the end 
drew near, she, worshiping, said: "Lord, I bless 
thee, that thou art with me, and all thou hast is 
mine. Thy love is greater than my weakness, 
greater than my helplessness, greater than my un- 
worthiness." In the presence of pain and death, 
two of the mysteries of life, the soul is gloriously 
comforted in its assurance of the divine love. 
When our experience of God's love in redemption 
becomes what it may and should be, we are greatly 
helped. In the midst of contradictory and trying 
environments, consciousness of the fact that God 
is love becomes blessedly potent. It is the love of 
God that endears him to us in all our need and 
weakness. Come what may, we know that God 
delights only in the happiness of his children. 
Whatever comes into life that interferes with that 
happiness he overrules, finally, for our good. 

The mercy of God is the outgoing of his love 
toward human need. Its manifestation is com- 
passion, forgiveness for the penitent, and comfort 
to those who are in any distress. Love looks witH 



The Love of God 

pity and sympathy upon a fallen race, and, to- 
gether with wisdom and mercy, comes to the 
rescue of the lost and perishing. The lost soul can 
reach its doom only by persistently sinning against 
goodness, love, mercy, pity, long-suffering; at the 
last, these unite with justice and holiness in the 
final judgment. One must, indeed, be truly in- 
corrigible who goes down to night in the presence 
of such redemptive influences. The redemptive 
love of God is the strongest appeal that can be 
made to the mind of man. That man who does 
not feel the force of this appeal has succeeded in 
banishing the last vestige of goodness from his 
heart. Love is the necessity of God's being and 
nature. He loves because he is what he is, and he 
is what he is because he loves. 

God is benevolent in all his designs, notwith- 
standing there is natural and moral evil in the 
world. The sun is impartial, shedding his light 
on the splendid mansion and the most humble cot- 
tage in equal effulgence; so the love of God glad- 
dens and blesses all living. God maketh his rain 
to fall upon the just and the unjust. His tender 
mercies are over all his works. His love is greater 
than our sin. Abraham, as a stranger in a strange 



The Love of God 

land, was at home in the love of God. Upon this 
immutable and gracious love he rested in every 
trial. This love upheld him when otherwise he 
would have been prostrate and undone. 

Love does not long exist without reaching the 
t'orm of sacrifice. From Genesis to Kevelation 
there is a gradual unfolding of the divine love. 
The incarnation of Jesus is the climax of this 
love. God could not love a race in need, as he 
knew ours to be, without expressing his love in 
the most tangible and effective way. "God com- 
mendeth his love to us, in thri, while we were yet 
sinners, Christ died for us." Christ on the cross 
is the highest interpretation of the divine love. 
Note the antithesis, "Christ died for us, while we 
were yet sinners." This love that made sacrifice 
for sinners while they were yet sinners is the out- 
going of God's heart. In the face of such love and 
such commendation of it, how can we be indif- 
ferent and hard-hearted? Only one attitude is 
appropriate in such a presence, and that is the at- 
titude of grateful and appreciative surrender. 
What and who are we that we should be the trus- 
tees of such a gospel ? Have we not been too ready 
to limit this gospel by the geography of our own 



The Love of God 

land and community? Have we stopped to con- 
sider that this gospel is for all the world, and 
that God holds us individually responsible for its 
publication to the uttermost parts of the earth? 
Can it be possible that we have renewed and re- 
freshed ourselves in the love of God only to for- 
get that we are debtors to publish this love to all 
races and peoples on the face of the earth ? Have 
we stopped to think how the heart of the heathen 
would thrill with joy if this redeeming love were 
made known to him ? May God forgive our past 
tardiness. May he now awaken us to duty and 
responsibility. 

The great navigator who ascended the moun- 
tains of the isthmus that connects North and 
South America made an important discovery when 
he looked upon the Pacific Ocean ; but he who has, 
by faith, looked on Jesus until he has become a 
personal Saviour has made a greater one. With 
this discovery of Christ lifted up for our salva- 
tion, we get a glimpse of the boundless ocean of 
divine love, until our hearts are lifted up in rap- 
turous praise. This day of our ecstatic vision will, 
however, be turned into a witness for our con- 
demnation, if we hasten not to publish the glad 

10 



The Love of God 

tidings. When, oh, when shall we, as enlightened 
people, recognize the inevitable responsibility 
which this day of our vision involves? To know 
the love of God entails the responsibility of mak- 
ing it known to those who know it not. This re- 
sponsibility is rational and necessary. With what 
abounding joy should we take it up ! With what 
real delight should we tell the good news! An 
overmastering missionary impulse is the normal 
condition of the Christian life. It should char- 
acterize and dominate the life of the church. It 
should thrill and inspire the heart of the indi- 
vidual Christian. Having come to the mastery of 
the heart, it impels to solicitude and effort in be- 
half of others. It pours itself out like waters 
from the sky. It is restless save as it flows out 
into a world that lieth in the arms of the wicked 
one. 



11 



CHAPTER II. 

The Love oe God in Redemption. 

"In his love and in his pity he redeemed them" 
(Isa. 63:9). 

Let us, in imagination, withdraw ourselves 
from the world in which we live, and for the time 
take up our abode upon a world in adjacent space, 
and from that viewpoint review, as in a panoramic 
vision, the dealings of God in securing the re- 
demption of our own lost and imperiled race. At 
every stage of the review the heart is awakened to 
some new song of praise on account of the infinite 
love and goodness of God, as manifested in the 
whole conception and plan. From Eden to Cal- 
vary, and from Calvary to the final consummation 
of the new Eden, the love of God enswathes the 
scene. Lifted up in the midst of the centuries, 
at a point where the years converge, stands the 
uplifted cross, telling out its unfathomable mys- 

12 



The Love of God 

tery of love. We can hear Jesus saying, "I for 
the sinner's sake have been pierced with many sor- 
rows, heeding not the dread hour of my apparent 
separation from the Father's most glorious pres- 
ence." 

"My strength is thine. 
Drink from my side the cup of life immortal, 
And love shall lead the path to heaven's portal." 

Who can measure the depth of meaning repre- 
sented by this great word "redemption" ? The 
sacred Scriptures themselves must enable us to let 
down the sounding-line, that some of the depths 
may be noted. In many of the passages of the 
Old Testament where the word "redeem" occurs, 
the original word means, to free by avenging or 
repaying. Man, the sinner, had robbed God of a 
part of the glory due him in the universal, loving 
obedience of all creaturehood. This is the con- 
stant offense of all impenitent personality. This 
is the standing provocation of every unregenerate 
character. Therefore, in redemption, experiment- 
ally realized, God acts, restoring to man the ability 
of loving obedience to the law of righteousness. 
The coming of the divine energy in experimental 
redemption is conditioned on the atonement made 

13 



The Love of God 

by our adorable Lord, which atonement made per- 
fect satisfaction to the divine law. It is apparent 
that Jesus, in his obedience, paid back to God that 
which was his due, and in that obedience he was 
our representative. No man has the benefit of this 
obedience save as he comes to God in faith and 
repentance. When he so comes, the benefit is glori- 
ously potent. The penitent comes to freedom by 
Christ's repaying, and by the experimental realiza- 
tion of redemption he engages in the life of con- 
tinuous repaying. 

The rule of Satan over the hearts of men is the 
rule of a vile usurper. He has no right to such a 
throne. Man was made for companionship with 
God. The love of his heart belongs to God. The 
service of his whole life belongs to God. By such 
a bestowal of his love and service, man comes to 
his highest throne of power. The usurper always 
stands in fear and dread of the return of the one 
whose place has been usurped by him. The 
avenger may come at any time, and if he is pos- 
sessed of superior power, well may the usurper 
stand in dread. Jesus came to avenge the usurpa- 
tion of Satan over the hearts of men. He was 
manifest that he might destroy the works of the 

14 



The Love of God 

devil. The devil is a vanquished foe, for the 
Avenger has come. Henceforth let men resist the 
devil, and he will flee from them. The avenging, 
sin-destroying Christ enthroned in the heart of 
any man is a guarantee of that man's victory over 
the devil and his power. Henceforth let the hu- 
man heart-thrones be kept for their rightful Lord. 
Let no rival usurp his place as Lord of our hearts 
and King in our lives. Men are now to find their 
freedom in the liberty which Christ gives. 

In Isaiah 50 : 2, we read, "Is my hand shortened 
that it cannot redeem?" Here the word trans- 
lated "redeem," means "separation." In experi- 
mental realization, redemption works separation. 
It separates the sinner from his sins. He is now 
able to sing from the heart, "They are all taken 
away." The man who has experimental realiza- 
tion of redemption finds his life, as to motive and 
quality, separated from the lives of the unregen- 
erated. The redeemed man is separated to the life 
of witnessing and godly devotion. He learns the 
secret of walking with God in daily communion. 
He takes on the Christ-life and rejoices in his 
eternal sonship through divine grace. He gives 
himself up to God in holy abandonment for the 

15 



The Love of God 

works of righteousness, to the end that the great 
usurper may be displaced in the hearts of all the 
race. He is jealous for the honor and rightful 
rule of his Lord. He is impatient with half* 
hearted service in the name of a profession of faith 
in Christ. He is consumed with zeal for the es- 
tablishing of the universal and rightful dominion 
of Christ in all lands. He is restless under the 
fact of heathen darkness as it rests upon so many 
millions of the earth to-day. In this chapter the 
emphasis has purposely been laid upon experi- 
mental realization of redemption, because this 
seems required by conditions that now obtain 
among the vast populations of so-called Christian 
lands. 

The theory of redemption by the atonement o:f! 
Christ is theoretically accepted by multitudes who 
have not had what is of the most vital impor- 
tance — the experimental realization of redemp- 
tion. So far as experience and real knowledge ar* 
concerned, redemption has not come within th* 
sphere of their conscious existence. This condi- 
tion is both dangerous and deplorable. God has 
acted in Christ in their behalf, but because they 
have been unbelieving and neglectful he has not 

16 



The Love of God 

acted within the realm of their own conscious in- 
dividual life. Brought up in the full blaze of 
gospel light, they are, nevertheless, in great dark- 
ness. The sad estate of these millions is the re- 
sult of their own unwillingness to come to Christ, 
that they might have life. Preachers and Chris- 
tians, generally, need to bear to these vast multi- 
tudes the message of God's love in redemption 
with a new urgency, and power. Let it be laid 
upon their hearts that they are about to perish on 
account of failure to bring this glorious experi- 
ence, urgently accessible, within the sphere of in- 
dividual conscious experience. The wickedness of 
those who are holding back in hesitation and ab- 
surd unwillingness is evident when we consider 
that God is being robbed of service that most cer- 
tainly belongs to him. The cause of God needs, 
and should have the support and active efforts of 
all gospel-enlightened people. These multitudes 
who are spending their money for that which is 
not bread are delaying the day of the ultimate 
victory of Christianity throughout the world, 
while, at the same time, they are imperiling their 
own souls. They are feeding on the husks of life, 
when they might be feeding on the very bread of 

2 it 



The Love of God 

God at the Father's table. What we need to-day 
is that the millions of Christendom shall come un- 
der the power of redemption, as experimentally 
realized. This will mean the consecration of the 
vast resources of civilization to the different forms 
of Christian service. It will put into the treas- 
uries of the missionary societies the money neces- 
sary for a general forward movement in the 
Christ-ordered project of world evangelization. 
"Thy people offer themselves willingly in the day 
of thy power." 



lfc 



CHAPTER III. 
The Love of God in Redemption — Concluded. 

"But God commendeth his own love toward us, 
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
us" (Rom. 5:8). 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on 
him should not perish, but have eternal life" 
(John 3: 16). 

"But God, being rich in mercy, for his great 
love wherewith he loved us, even when we were 
dead through our trespasses" (Eph. 2:4, 5). 

"Not what I am, O Lord, but what thou art ! 
That, that alone can be my soul's true rest; 
Thy love, not mine, bids fear and doubt depart, 
And stills the tempest of my tossing breast. 

"Thy name is Love ! I hear it from yon cross ; 
Thy name is Love ! I read it in yon tomb ; 
All meaner love is perishable dross, 

But this shall light me through time's thickest gloom. 

"It blesses now, and shall forever bless ; 
It saves me now, and shall forever save; 
It holds me up in days of helplessness ; 
It bears me safely o'er each swelling wave. 

19 



The Love of God 

€ 'Girt with the love of God on every side, 

Breathing that love as heaven's own healing air, 
I work or wait, still following my guide, 
Braving each foe, escaping every snare. 

" 'T is what I know of thee, my Lord and God, 

That fills my soul with peace, my lips with song ; 

Thou art my health, my joy, my staff and rod ; 
Leaning on thee, in weakness I am strong. 

*'I am all want and hunger ; this faint heart 
Pines for a fullness which it finds not here ; 
Dear ones are leaving, and, as they depart, 

Make more room within for something yet more dear. 

"More of thyself, oh, show me hour by hour ! 
More of thy glory, O my God and Lord ! 
More of thyself in all thy grace and power! 
More of thy love and truth, incarnate Word !" 

The movement of God toward a lost race for its 
redemption was prompted by infinite compassion 
and love. He needed not us to add to his own. 
glory. He abode alone in a glory unapproachable, 
yet his compassion moved him to our salvation. 
The love of God at work in human redemption if? 
a most entrancing theme, and appeals to our deep- 
est emotions of gratitude and praise. The re* 
demption of a guilty world was a conception 
worthy of Deity. Who or what may serve as the 
ransom in such a transaction? This transaction: 
is not a mere act of rescue, such as would liberate 
a slave. It is that, and more. It is not alone the 

20 



The Love of God 

ease of a debtor who, after much pleading, is for- 
given and set free by his creditor. It is that, and 
more. It is deliverance from the thraldom of 
Satan; it is something bought back; it is rescue 
by a ransom price paid. In view of such love and 
such consequent redemption, we may well sing: 

"Jesus paid it all, 
All to him I owe ; 
Sin had left a crimson stain; 
He washed it white as snow." 

Christ was the ransom price delivered upon Cal- 
'vary on account of a lost race. He was the full 
discharge of all that was due to the law and the 
righteousness of God. As Bishop Wilson puts it : 
"Christ is the daysman coming between the of- 
fended majesty of heaven and us, and making a 
perfect satisfaction to divine justice on our be- 
half. Christ hath in this manner, and in no 
other 'redeemed us from the curse of the law, hav- 
ing become a curse for us/ " 

It is related of a gentleman who visited a slave 
market that he was deeply moved at the sight of 
a delicate girl slave who stood in awful dread of 
cruel and unknown ownership. He paid the price 
named by her owner, and, placing the bill of sale 
in the slave's hands, told her to go her way and 
21 



The Love of God 

enjoy her freedom. In her inexpressible gladness, 
she could only beg that she might be the servant of 
her deliverer forever. This incident but faintly 
illustrates the glorious power of redeeming love 
as manifested in Jesus Christ. With infinite glad- 
ness do the redeemed ones become the slaves of the 
Christ. The redeeming power of God's love is the 
most potent influence brought to bear upon the 
human heart. 

God's redeeming love is potent in bringing the 
human mind to its most praiseworthy qualities. 
The reverential and appreciative approach of the 
human mind to the solicitations of the divine love 
lays the basis for the most glorious transforma- 
tions of human character. The poor publican was 
in such an exercise of the mind when his simple 
prayer, "God be merciful to me, a sinner/' brought 
out one of the few commendations of the Saviour. 
The publican's heart was moving toward redeem- 
ing love in the feeling of profound unworthiness. 
His self-abasement pleased the Saviour. This is 
the becoming attitude for the human mind and 
heart in the presence of the unfathomable love of 
God. Christ is never rightly revealed except 
through a sense of sin. Granted this realization, 

22 



The Love of God 

and Jesus stands before the soul like the sun when 
the clouds are passed. Or, better still, he stands 
out before the consciousness like the landscape 
under the sunlight. 

God is great in creation, but he is equally great 
in redemption, for in: redemption he especially 
shows forth his great love. Love and forgiveness 
break the hard heart. Love and mercy save the 
penitent. A Pharisee entertained Jesus, Mco- 
demus came to him for an interview, but we are 
not certain that they opened their hearts to make 
Jesus King and Lord. The woman who was a sin- 
ner, who tearfully anointed the Lord's feet and 
wiped them with her hair, gave to Jesus the en- 
tertainment he most craved. To her vision there 
was no question as to the divineness of Jesus. The 
penitent sinner had found the redeeming Saviour. 
She poured forth her richest ointment and be- 
stowed her most loving kiss in deepest gratitude. 
Nothing too good or too precious for Jesus now. 
Thus it is ever when the soul has tasted the love 
of God in redemption. The result is the glad con- 
secration of all that has value and that may be 
utilized as an offering to the Christ. 



23 



The Love of God 

The Pharisee looked upon the woman as an in- 
truder who had bestowed a doubtful honor and 
cast a shadow upon his guest. As God and the 
angels viewed the scene, they saw a penitent re- 
nouncing her sin, expressing costly and sincere 
gratitude to her Saviour, and rejoicing with joy 
unspeakable in the pardoning love of God. The 
proud Pharisee pronounced his condemnation of 
the woman at the moment when the great Judge 
of all was pronouncing her absolution. God's love 
in the redeeming Christ reveals the fact that the 
Saviour is ready to be related to sinners. After 
all, it was not so much a wonder that Jesus should 
receive the tribute of the penitent woman as that 
he should be a guest at the table of the Pharisee. 
What fearful mistakes are made by the blinded 
and prejudiced human heart ! 

The love of God begets love in the souls of men. 
The love we bear to Christ is in proportion to our 
realization of redemption. The enlightened world 
to-day greatly needs a fresh and conscious realiza- 
tion of the love of God in redemption. This will 
afford a mighty motive for meeting the more than 
ever world-wide obligations of those who have the 
light of the precious gospel of Jesus the Christ. 

24 



The Love of God 

Shame on us if we have ever called in question the 
fact of the race's absolute and urgent need of this 
gospel of the divine love! Shame on us for our 
half-hearted efforts in its propagation! Did not 
the descent of a shower of tongues of fire at Pen- 
tecost indicate that this gospel was to set aflame 
the hearts of the disciples of all ages? Are our 
hearts to-day aflame? If not, why not? Is not 
the cause worthy? Is not the world in need of 
an earnest Christianity ? Is not the responsibility 
of this generation in excess of that of any former 
generation? Is there not a manifest need of a 
new baptism of fire upon the church of to-day? 
Ought not our pulpits flame anew with the ur- 
gency of the love of God ? Ought not the realiza- 
tion of the divine love lead the church to a new 
dedication of money and all possible agency and 
resource for the speedy evangelization of the 
world? Is there not need of a holy fermentation: 
throughout the vast populations of Christendom 
with a view to eradicating the evil, conserving the 
good, doing away with dangerous stagnation, and 
assimilating all that is savable into the kingdom 
of God ? Is there not need of new inspiration and 
movement throughout the church of to-day ? 

25 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Love of God as Shown in the Incarna- 
tion, Death, and Resurrection 
of Jesus. 

"In this was manifested the love of God toward 
us, because that God sent his only begotten Son 
into the world, that we might live through him. 
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that 
he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation 
for our sins" (I. John 4 : 9, 10). 

"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he 
laid down his life for us" (I. John 3 : 16). 

"For if, being enemies, we have been reconciled 
to God through the death of his Son, much more, 
having been reconciled, we shall be saved in his 
life" (Rom. 5:10). 

Throughout the centuries the advance of the 
race has come by the incarnations of God. The 
incarnation of Jesus was manifestly the crowning 

26 



The Love of God 

consummation of the love of God. God thought 
of the world in loving compassion, and the com- 
ing of Christ in human form was the result. It 
is a commonly accepted theory that all bodies are 
but so many expressions of thought. Because man 
is environed with a body and related through his 
sensibilities to his environment beyond his own 
body, the incarnation of Jesus is manifestly help- 
ful. Man is always helped by goodness in a con- 
crete form. Hence it is that God is able to work 
through the personality of good men and women. 
Our bodies serve to disguise, as well as reveal us. 
The race may not yet be classified with trans- 
parent creaturehood. James speaks of two-souled 
men, and daily experience proves the truthfulness 
of his reference. The helpfulness of the incarna- 
tion of Jesus is on account of the use to which he 
put the incarnation. The incarnation veiled the 
divine glory as well as revealed it. The goodness 
of Jesus was a transparent goodness. He never 
acted a part. He was always genuinely and truly 
good. The days of our earthly pilgrimage put a 
test upon human character because, being the days 
of our earthly incarnation, they call for acts, for 
conduct, and compel resultant character. Good 

27 



The Love of God 

character is known and demonstrated by its be- 
coming incarnate. We do not see how the charac- 
ter of God could be known save through the in- 
carnation of Jesus. 

What Jesus did and said during his earthly 
career demonstrates the fact that he was Deity in- 
carnate. God proposed to reach the race through 
the incarnation of his well-beloved Son, and he 
is still proposing to reach the world through those 
who have become his sons through the grace 
brought to men in the person of Jesus. Even hu- 
man love must come to us in visible form, on ac- 
count of our peculiar constitution. It was also 
necessary that God's love come to the race in vis- 
ible form. The incarnation of Jesus was not a 
detached incident in the development of the rela- 
tions sought between God as Creator and man as 
creature. It was in perfect harmony with the pro- 
gressive chain of divine providence. The incarna- 
tion was the cumulation of numberless processes in 
a single mighty manifestation. It was a lifting up 
of the little hills into a great mount of blessing 
and illumination. It was the concentration of the 
light into a glorious luminary that "lighteth every 
man that cometh into the world." Other incar- 

28 



The Love of God 

nations were like the moon and the stars, while the 
incarnation of Jesus was like the rising of the 
glorious king of day. Electric light, starlight, 
moonlight, are only feeble reflections of the sun- 
light. Thank God that out of his infinite love he 
hath set, in the otherwise darkened heavens of the 
xace, the glorious light of the incarnate, crucified, 
and risen Christ. 

Joseph Parker says : "Not only was the incar- 
nation of our Lord the best possible method of 
coming into the human race, but the only method 
of doing so; and this I undertake to show on the 
ground of natural reason itself. God could not 
come into any common man as he came into Christ 
without first destroying that man's identity, alter- 
ing the center and the weight of that man's re- 
sponsibility, and placing that man in a totally 
false relation to every other member of the human 
race. The incarnation of God in Christ, exactly 
as it is stated in the gospel alone, fills my imagina- 
tion and satisfies my reason in its sternest moods. 
Coming as Christ did into the world, begotten by 
ihe Holy Ghost, conceived of the Virgin Mary, 
made like unto us, yet without sin, it becomes 
a mystery, indeed, but a mystery before which our 

29 



The Love of God 

reason uncovers its head and bows down in lowly- 
wonder and worship. As it is, I can say, Great 
is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the 
flesh; but upon any other theory I should say, 
Great is the injustice of godliness; a common man 
is chosen and purified as a vessel of God, whilst 
other men are left to be touched by his inferior 
ministry." 

"I love thee, O my God ! but not 

For what I hope thereby, 
Nor yet because who love thee not 

Must die eternally. 
I love thee, O my God ; and still 

I ever will love thee, 
Solely because my God thou art, 

Who first has loved me. 

"For me, to lowest depths of woe 

Thou didst thyself abase ; 
For me didst bear the cross, the shame, 

And manifold disgrace; 
For me didst suffer pains unknown, 

Blood, sweat, and agony; 
Yea, death itself, all, all for me ! 

For me, thine enemy ! 

"Then shall I not, O Saviour, mine, 

Shall I not love thee well? 
Not with the hope of winning heaven, 

Nor of escaping hell ; 
Not with the hope of earning aught. 

Nor seeking a reward, 
But freely, fully, as thyself 

Hast loved me, O Lord." 



30 



The Love of God 

The cross is the highest expression of the love 
of God to man. All of the Christ-life was an ex- 
pression of love, but for a number of reasons the 
cross bears the most convincing testimony to the 
divine affection for, and estimate of the human 
family. The cross was much more than a Koman 
gallows. It told out the divine purpose to give to 
erring man the opportunity to return to God. Its 
ruggedness was girdled with a halo of mercy and 
love. Since Jesus died upon the cross, let no de- 
spairing sinner iail of the divine deliverance. God 
is in pursuit of a perishing race, and he will not 
stop short of his quest. Calvary tells of wrath 
against sin, but love for the sinner. Its wordless 
appeal has curbed and subdued the heart of a re- 
bellious race. In its presence men uncover their 
heads and their hearts. All men: cry out, "For 
me he died ! for me !" Men make the cross their 
plea as they approach to God, and the plea is 
effective in the highest degree. Self-accusing, 
guilty men look upon the cross and say, "I ask no 
more, for I now know that God loves me." "Like 
as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth 
them that fear him," has been pronounced the key 
of the cross. Salvation is not conditioned upon 

31 



The Love of God 

intellectual capacity, but upon "a broken and a 
contrite heart." preacher of the everlasting gos * 
pel, the world needs this message of the cross to c 
day from a heart all aglow with its sweet power. 

How can there be about us the least vestige of 
indifference or unreality when we are to carry the 
very heart of God to perishing men? But listen, 
for there have fallen upon the ear of a sorrowing 
world the words of an infinite comfort. It is the 
outburst of the divine love for those who confront 
the open grave at the end of a brief pilgrimage on 
the earth. It is a message for those who often 
wonder because they abide not on the earth aa 
long as do many inanimate objects; who wonder 
because their loving, helpful friends are removed 
when the mountains remain. Jesus, by his resur* 
rection, has given the race a new view of death,, 
such a view as should drive forever from our hearts 
all of the pagan notions that have dared to make 
us unworthy of the risen and glorified Saviour. 
Jesus was "declared to be the Son of God with 
power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the 
resurrection from the dead." "If we have been 
planted together in the likeness of his death, we 
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." 

32 



CHAPTER V. 
The Love of God and Human Chastisement. 

"For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even 
as a father the son in whom he delighteth" (Pro v. 
3:12). 

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" 
(Heb. 12:6). 

"Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness 
in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be 
with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life" 
(Ps. 42:8). 

"'It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not 
consumed, because his compassions fail not" 
(Lam. 3:22). 

It is the triumph of faith and grace that en- 
ables the human soul to rely unceasingly upon the 
infinite and superior wisdom and goodness of God. 
Resignation in the midst of circumstances and 

3 33 



The Love of God 

providences that seem on their face to be adverse 
and forbidding is a condition of the mind which 
yields a mine of joy. Paul referred to this when 
he said, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, 
therewith to be content." This rest in the love 
and goodness of God is not always easy for our 
questioning hearts. We cannot always see the 
mercy and goodness that is veiled by appearances. 
The vapors that interpose between our eyes and 
the sun give to the sun its apparently varying 
colors. In reality the great luminary abides in 
his unchanging glory. It is only the intervening 
mists that lead us at times to be deceived by some 
other thought. The Bible gives one characteristic 
and all-containing definition of God, when it de- 
clares that "God is love." Let our minds gather 
about this great declaration for a little time, that 
something of its glorious richness may come upon 
us. Is it not true that God possesses in his love 
all thinkable perfections? Systematic theology 
has given us a carefully classified list of the at- 
tributes of God, but Saint John goes to the heart 
of the whole matter in the single declaration, "God 
is love." Are not all the perfections of God but so 
many manifestations of his love ? 

34 



The Love of God 

"Drink, child, thy Father's love shall make the unsought 
draught 
Sweet to thy soul, though bitter to thy lips. 
Think how for thee thy sinless Elder Brother quaffed 
The cup thou filledst, beneath my love's eclipse. 

"Ah, Father! whatso'er thy children truly need 
Thou givest, not whatever they implore ; 
And oft we, grieving, think thy mercy gives no heed 
To our rash pleadings, when our hearts are sore. 

"But when the long sad lesson we have learned at length, 
And with unmurmuring meekness we receive 
The cup, whose bitter draught gives new and mighty 
strength, 
We own thy wise true love, and no more grieve, 

"But rest in patient hope, although thou long withhold 
The chalice. Death and life brimmed, chrismal seal 
Of conquest at whose touch the pearly gates unfold, 
And heaven's high glories to the soul reveal. 

"We only wait as minors till the glad birthday 

Shall crown us kings before our Father's throne. 
As princely exiles here we struggle, toil, and pray, 
With eyes by watching very weary grown. 

"For comfortless, aye, orphaned, thou dost never make 
Thy children. Trusting hearts are kept in peace ; 
And when our night-time comes, thou 'It bid us sleepy 
to wake 
Where every sob is hushed and sorrows cease." 

There appeared before the vision of Saint John 
the numberless multitude of heaven, those of the 
white robes and the palms. His inquiry was,, 
"Whence came they ?" Promptly the answer came, 
"These are they which came out of great tribula- 
tion, and have washed their robes, and made them. 

35 



The Love of God 

white in the blood of the Lamb." These wen? 
brought to the final and the triumphant life? 
through an earthly pilgrimage that was fraught; 
with sorrows, disappointments, and harrowing un- 
certainties. These have arisen from that which 
was false and fleeting, to the eternal and abid* 
ing. Out of protracted struggles they have come 
to the reward of faith and sympathy. Their chas- 
tisements, together with the loving ministry of the 
divine Spirit, have purified, as do the furnace fires. 
Delivered, crowned, and safe at home at last ! 

Untouched of chastisements and divine grace, 
wre are like stones in the quarry. Grace, received 
mare eagerly and thoroughly under chastisement 
than without it, serves like the giant explosive and 
the chisel in fitting the stones for exalted and 
noble uses. It is the plan of God to make of us 
living stones for the building of the spiritual 
temple which is slowly arising through a redeemed 
humanity. The great Quarry Master has his eye 
upon us, though the dust, noise, and friction o^ 
the quarry is sometimes so distracting and distress-* 
ing that we are tempted to believe we are quite 
forgotten of him. It is never so, for he watcheth 
over us ever. 

36 



The Love of God 

"Behold, happy is the man whom God correct- 
eth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of 
the Almighty" (Job 5: 17). "If ye endure chas- 
tening, God dealeth with you as with sons" (Heb. 
12:7). Chastisement is one of the evidences of 
our sonship in the divine family. It has been said 
that we may well question our sonship if our 
chastenings are small and infrequent. There was 
raging fever and attendant anxiety in the home of 
Saint Peter, though he was called to be an apostle. 
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." Ee- 
ferring to this affliction in the home of Peter, 
Joseph Parker says : "Who would not have spared 
the senior disciple? Who would not have made 
him the focal point on which should have con- 
verged all the rays of the divine approbation, so 
that he might have been like a light seen afar, 
blazing forth the excellence of the divine election ? 
The thief that lived next door had less fever in his 
house than Peter had. Sometimes the bad man's 
grounds bring forth plentifully, sometimes the 
pampered and overfed Dives has wealth upon 
wealth, while the praying soul is outside with dogs 
for his companions and crumbs as his portion. 
All this cannot be reconciled within the narrow 

37 



The Love of God 

limits of time. We want more field; the line that 
appears to be straight is only apparently straight, 
because of the limited points within which it is 
drawn. Extend the line, and it partakes of the 
shape of the world upon whose surface it is drawn. 
;So within these narrow points of time, the rock- 
ing cradle and the deep tomb, there is not scope 
enough to reconcile all the divine purposes and 
actions and mysteries; we need more field, an 
ampler horizon. We shall get it by and by, and 
then we shall know how God has been dealing 
with us in forcing rivers out of our eyes and in 
making our heads a burning pain. child of 
God, much praying man, wearied, almost, with cry- 
ing at heaven's gate, proceed, persevere; the sigh 
of thy weakness shall be mightier far than the 
thunder of thy strength/' 

Chastisement is a test upon character. Under 
this test, we often are brought to see how super- 
ficial and inadequate has been the surrender of our 
wills to God. Under such test we are sure to dis- 
cover as to the purity of our motives, along with 
many other features of self -revelation that have 
great value in our approach to the divine require- 
ments. In all the rugged discipline of life, God 

38 



The Love of God 

has in view our reaching the divine likeness, the 
perfected Christian character. Chastening should 
not, therefore, be regarded as punitive, but edu- 
cational. It is the now inscrutable method of love 
for our development. Its wisdom and beneficence 
will appear in God's good time. All the riddles 
shall be solved, and the Gordian knots shall be 
cut. Only let us patiently bide the time. 

Chastisement often serves to bring us to God 
and to secure our obedience. The divine love is at 
work in our behalf, therefore we ought to meet 
chastisement in a noble serenity and an unques- 
tioning resignation. This is, indeed, a great tri- 
umph in one's character, and it is worth all the 
struggle through which we must often pass in ob- 
taining it. It should be borne in mind that the 
shadows of chastisement fall everywhere. In the 
case of the sinner who persists in his rebellion 
against God and the divine order, what was in- 
tended to be the chastisement of love becomes self- 
entailed and often galling punishment. This at- 
titude of rebellion makes one the servant of sin 
and Satan. It brings one under the yoke that is 
not easy and the burden which is not light. 

In certain diseases, the only sure remedy is con- 



The Love of God 

stitutional treatment. This is the kind which God 
proposes by regeneration and chastisement to ad- 
minister in our behalf. It is the only effective 
treatment for our depraved and kinky natures. 
When taken according to divine direction, it is 
manifest in the surrendered will, in the purifica- 
tion of motive and affection, in superior and well- 
governed temper, and in a general realization of 
the divine conception of character. The persist- 
ently rebellious man gets, in lieu of the gracious 
chastisements of the divine Father, the merciless 
lashes of the devil. Which shall we take ? Shall 
we not all choose God's loving chastisements in 
preference to the merciless tortures of Satan ? In- 
stead of being treated by the rod, God's plan is to 
lead us by the shepherd's crook. "Now no chas- 
tening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the 
peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who 
are exercised thereby." Set opposite all the chas- 
tisements of life is the "afterward" of the God who 
is love, and if we are patient in well-doing we 
shall have the joy of his interpretation of the 
great word. 



40 



CHAPTEE VI. 

The Love of God and the Calamities of Life. 

"Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not 
hearken unto Balaam, but the Lord thy God 
turned the curse into a blessing unto thee because 
the Lord thy God loved thee" (Deut. 23 : 5). 

Man is in no respect owner or proprietor in the 
present state and order of life. He is constantly 
resisting, forgetting, or denying this fact, but al- 
ways to his own hurt. His resistance is as ir- 
rational, and counts for as much as the baying of 
a dog at the moon, and as wise as the man who, 
taking his place in front of a flying railway loco- 
motive, proceeded to defy it and oppose it. Calam- 
ities, as we are wont to speak, are such visitations 
as are beyond the control of man. Fire, flood, 
volcanic eruptions, pestilence, death, and all de- 
structive manifestations of the elements of nature, 
according to the usual methods of thinking, are 

41 



The Love of God 

in the category. After all, the word "calamity" 
is a sort of pagan word. It was not begotten by 
the Christian faith, nor does it apply to the Chris- 
tian character as to anything beyond human con- 
trol. 

Those manifestations that are beyond the control 
of man are under the control of God or Satan. 
That Satan does exert a limited malignant power 
in the present order, we have no doubt; but even 
this limited power is being slowly and surely cir- 
cumvented. The love of God is responsible for 
this circumvention, and in the end the triumph 
will be complete. In the economy of God, limited 
satanic influence serves as a discipline and a test. 
It is not irresistible in so far as moral character 
and influence are concerned, for we hear it said, 
"Kesist the devil, and he will flee from you." Con- 
cerning the provision made by the divine love for 
victory over the devil, we hear it said, "For this 
purpose the Son of God was manifested that he 
might destroy the works of the devil." So there 
is no doubt of the ultimate triumph of love. If 
in the present order Satan shall, by any temporary 
power, inflict suffering or administer destruction 
through the elements upon the children of men, 

42 



The Love of God 

be it known that through the redeeming love God 
stands ready to turn the curse into a blessing. It 
follows, therefore, that to the child of God any 
such thing as a calamity is impossible. "He that 
doeth the will of God abideth forever" in safety. 

There was every appearance of calamity in the 
death of our beloved President McKinley, and 
there can be no doubt that his murderer intended 
it to be a calamity ; but we have lived long enough 
this side of the sad event to witness the good that 
has come out of the awful tragedy. God would 
not hearken unto the wish of the murderer of our 
President, but he has turned his sad death into a 
blessing to the nation, because of his great love 
to our nation. The real calamity connected with 
the whole affair was the calamity that came be- 
cause the murderer of the President wilfully con- 
sented to be the instrument of the devil in the 
act of murder, and in that the man with a heart 
so vile and impenitent fell under the self-invited 
judgment of God. The greatest calamity possible 
in this life is the calamity of an ungodly and an 
impenitent character, and for this man himself 
is responsible. 

Ever and anon we are shocked at some great 

43 



The Love of God 

catastrophe like the recent outburst of Mount 
Pelee, when thousands are suddenly swept 
into eternity. But let us consider that, as to those 
who were thus suddenly removed, none were taken 
to whom the mere continuance of the earthly life 
would have meant transformation of character on 
account of such continued existence. Judging by 
every possible analogy, and by what we observe 
as to the government of God, this is a fair and 
legitimate inference. To the rest of the race, what 
are the lessons of such a visitation? First, that 
God is the sole proprietor of the earth, and that 
we occupy it only by his sufferance. So there will 
be no filing of bills of indemnity and no suits to 
recover for the property losses. No earthly court 
would presume to hear any argument in behalf of 
such a claim. Here is a lesson that the world 
needs to have taught it again and again. Men 
and nations go on with their accumulations of 
property, and make use of it, wholly without re- 
gard to the claims of God. Millions upon mil- 
lions are accumulated and hoarded, as if men were 
in no sense responsible to the world's need, and 
the cry of the unevangelized world is drowned in 
the excesses of luxurious living. In some way or 

44 



The Love of God 

other men must be made to see that God alone 
is proprietor. Devastating floods and consuming 
fires are so many reminders that there are unseen 
forces that must be reckoned with in the world 
of commerce. The people sometimes hear the voice 
of God in connection with a great drought or fam- 
ine as they would not at any other time. If men 
were more ready to recognize the proprietorship 
of the Almighty, we have every reason to believe 
that the number of calamitous visitations would 
be much fewer. God's claims upon the wealth and 
world that are his by creation must be heard. 

Such a visitation as that which has just been 
witnessed in the West Indies serves to quicken our 
appreciation of the manifold blessings which we 
enjoy in the absence of such visitation. Our fer- 
tile plains, our teeming and placid rivers, our 
fruitful valleys, our verdure-crowned mountains 
and hills, never seemed so lovely and beautiful as 
now. These scenes are the rule of God's love and 
beneficence, while those of the bursting volcano 
are the exception. Oh, that from our heart of 
hearts we might praise and adore the God of love, 
who gives us so much of blessing and permits but 
little of the curse to fall! Oh, that our praise 

45 



The Love of God 

might not be a matter of mere sentiment, empty 
of fruit, but a deep and abiding conviction that 
shall constantly prove itself in the demonstration 
of our stewardship ; "The earth is the Lord's, and 
the fulness thereof/' and at most we shall shortly 
have need of but enough to cover our dust. God's 
uniform method of turning a curse into a blessing 
is a most convincing demonstration of his love. 
Ultimately all the curse shall have passed away. 
Until that time let us comfort ourselves in that, if 
we but lovingly seek to obey God and serve him, 
ere any so-called calamity shall overtake us, God 
shall turn it into a blessing. 

We are usually much affected at the sight of 
physical suffering, and are in constant dread of it 
ourselves. Let it be noted with regard to all phys- 
ical suffering, that it is more apparent than real. 
As a rule, and most likely without exception, 
death itself is painless, and need not be dreaded 
at all. God has so ordered all physical being that 
beyond a certain point suffering of the body is 
not, save in appearance only. When we are in 
readiness, as is our privilege and duty, death is 
a blessing in disguise. God's loving ministry, by 
which he turns the curse into a blessing, is all- 

46 



The Love of God 

pervasive. Even physical monstrosities frequently 
serve to quicken our appreciation of physical per- 
fection. 

Suffer here a quotation from De Sales: "He 
died for all because all were dead, and his mercy 
was more salutary to buy back the race of men 
than Adam's misery was to ruin it. Indeed, 
Adam's sin was so far from overwhelming the di- 
vine benignity that, on the contrary, it excited 
^nd provoked it. So that by a most sweet and a 
most loving reaction and struggle, it received vigor 
.from its adversary's presence, and, as if recollect- 
ing its forces for victory, it made grace to super- 
abound where sin had abounded. Whence the holy 
church, by a pious excess of admiration, cries out 
on Easter eve: '0 truly necessary sin of Adam 
which was blotted out by the death of Jesus 
Christ! blessed fault which merited to have 
such and so great a Bedeemer!' Truly we may 
say as did he of old, 'We were ruined had we not 
been undone' ; that is, ruin brought us profit, since 
in effect human nature has received more graces 
by its Saviour redeeming than ever it would by 
Adam's innocence, if he had persevered therein. 
For though the divine Providence has left in man 

47 



The Love of God 

deep marks of his severity, yea, even amid the 
very grace of his mercy, as, for example, the ne- 
cessity of dying, disease, labors, the rebellion of. 
sensuality, yet the divine favor, floating as it were 
over all this, takes pleasure in turning these mis- 
eries to the greater profit of those who love him i( 
making patience spring from labors, contempt of 
the world from the necessity of death, a thousand 
victories from out of concupispence ; and, as tho 
rainbow touching the thorn aspalathus makes it 
more odoriferous than the lily, so our Saviour's; 
redemption touching our miseries makes themt 
more beneficial and worthy of love than original 
innocence could ever have been. The state of re- > 
demption is a hundred times better than that oi! 
innocence. Verily, by the watering of our Sav- 
iour's blood, made with the hyssop of the cross, w(i 
have been replaced in a whiteness incomparablj* 
more excellent than the snow of innocence. Wo 
come out, like Naaman, from the stream of salva . 
tion more pure and clean than if we had never 
been leprous, to the end that the Divine Majesty, 
as he has ordained also for us, should not be over- 
come by evil, but overcome evil by good, that 
mercy should keep itself above judgment, and his 

43 



The Love of God 

tender mercies be over all his works." The thorn 
would not naturally be classed among perfume- 
giving plants, as is the lily, but rain and rainbow 
work a miracle of transformation. 



49 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Love op God and the Evangelical 
Appeal. 

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness 
and forbearance and longsuff ering ; not knowing 
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repent- 
ance?" (Rom. 2:4). 

"Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love ; 
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" 
(Jer. 31:3). 

"I drew them with cords of a man, with bands 
of love" (Iios. 11:4). 

"No man can come to me, except the Father 
which hath sent me draw him" (John 6 : 44). 

The gospel of Christ is the gospel of gracious 
appeal. It is addressed to a race that by nature 
is apt to lose sight of God. This not because they 
are unconscious of a need of him, but because they 
are possessed of a nature that frequently permits 
some other object to displace him in the affection 

50 



The Love of God 

and service of life. However, God knew all about 
the nature of man when he decided on his redemp- 
tion. From the beginning the divine love has 
sought the recovery of man the creature, to the 
fellowship and communion of God the Creator. 
Inasmuch as God knows thoroughly the great deep 
of the human heart, the encouragement which he 
holds out for return to him should ever be accepted 
with the fullest confidence and most grateful ap- 
preciation. The divine love for man is therefore 
the basis of gospel persuasion. This is the mes- 
sage which Christ came to illustrate and amplify. 
It is the message which the church is to bear to 
the race in every age. Having been enlightened 
as to the certainty of the divine compassion, it 
becomes our duty to transmit this persuasion from 
generation to generation. This has been done as 
to those portions of the world's population that 
have lived under the illuminations of the Chris- 
tian gospel. 

Because of what divine love has done for those 
who have felt the thrill of its marvelous power, 
there must ever come upon all its recipients an 
ever-deepening sense of obligation to propagate 
this gracious gospel until the earth shall be full 

51 



The Love of God 

of it. Just what the divine love has done for uy 
is well illustrated by Aristotle's footless birds. It; 
is said of these birds that, being without feet, their 
only safety was in unbroken flight. For this they 
were well-fitted. If, perchance, they were so un- 
fortunate as to fall to the ground, they remained 
helpless, and, by their exposure, soon came to 
their death. One hope only remained, and that 
was that some kind hand should lift them into 
the air and start them on their flight, or that some 
strong gale of wind should reach them and give? 
them sufficient momentum so that they might, by 
dint of effort, recover their poise in the air and 
return to a condition of safety. The love of God 
takes up the race, and by the breath of his com- 
passion renews in us those powers of heavenly 
poise and flight. The human will consenting in 
penitence to recognize and receive the love of God, 
opens a door by which enters the gracious and sav- 
ing Christ. That the human will should some- 
times be stubborn and rebellious against divine 
love is at Once a misfortune and a wonder. Why 
should we not recognize the divine friendship? 
Why should we not consent to the divine mercy? 
Why should we not shelter in the divine compas- 

52 



The Love of God 

sion? Why should we not willingly receive the 
hand extended to help? Does our sense of tin- 
worthiness hinder? Then we should remember 
that a sense of unworthiness is the best possible 
commendation to the divine love. 

The love of God awakens us by making us con- 
scious of the divine solicitude. It excites within 
us the flame of exalted desire for likeness to God 
in the possession of holy and exalted virtues. It 
excites our desires for the eternal, for the infinite, 
for the abiding, for the spiritual. What greater 
mistake can we make than that we deny to God's 
love our heartiest cooperation? This divine love 
is ever operating in our behalf. It is unflagging 
and tireless in its tender ministry upon the mind. 
It touches as by angelic visitation our dormant 
natures. It operates for our quickening, for our 
recovery to the divine life and communion. It 
operates with a view to satisfying within us in this 
present life those indefinable outgoings of our 
hearts toward the infinite. It bids us lift up our 
hearts in faith and love toward God as the source 
of all power. With such a ministration of the 
divine to the human, nothing less can reasonably 



53 



The Love of God 

be expected than man's consent and abandonment 
to the infinite love. 

It is only natural to suppose that the human 
heart shall arise in response to the love of God and 
girt itself about with the strength that comes as a 
result of having decided that, cost what it may,, 
the response to the divine love shall at once be 
made. We can think of no greater source of power 
for human life and character than that it shall 
abide in the will of God as its vital center. The 
heavenly bodies are held to their spheres by what 
has been called the law of attraction. Under this 
law they gravitate about some powerful center. If 
any of these bodies shall, by any interference, de- 
flect from their sphere of gravitation, the result is 
wreck and loss. So when a human heart drifts 
from its anchorage in the love of God, it is face 
to face with immeasureable danger. From this 
anchorage in the divine love, we should see to it 
that no combination of influences shall ever drive 
us. 

The mother acts promptly on hearing the cry of 
her helpless offspring r She is not always able to 
give help. Her child may reach conditions where 
her ministry is unavailable . On the other hand, 

54 



The Love of God 

God has infinite power to help his children. If 
there be but the breathing of the most feeble sigh 
or desire for him, there is hope. He awaits in con- 
stant solicitude the breath of humblest prayer, to 
the intent that he may come with helpful ministry. 
This uplifting of the human heart in even a feeble 
desire for God is the starting-point and the rest- 
ing-place of God's love. From this point of con- 
tact, divine influence multiplies and the human 
soul receives. With this feeble desire as a start- 
ing-point, the soul may be put in a very flame of 
passion for the divine. The heart more and more 
cries out for the living God. God's love works 
on a sigh. The human heart often prays when 
its prayer is an unconscious act. There is infinite 
hopefulness for the children of men on account of 
God's love. What an appeal is here for the church, 
for her ministers, for her members. How in a 
very baptism of joyfulness we should arise to her- 
ald such an appeal across the dreary wastes of god- 
less lives. God's love prompts his compassion. It 
begets that divine solicitude which seeks the salva- 
tion of men. God is anxious that all men come to 
him. He willeth not the death of any, but the 
rather that all should turn to him and live. God's 

55 



The Love of God 

love is the summer of heaven realized in human 
hearts; it brings the everlasting summer of the 
soul here and now. When once realized, its re- 
cipient is restless in desire that it be carried to all 
the world. When we know that our loving God is 
ready to put his breath upon any single good or 
religious aspiration, we can with hope and expec- 
tation appeal to our fellow-men in behalf of this, 
the best news that mortals may ever hear. This 
side of final doom the sinner needs all of Calvary, 
and Calvary is all for him. Salvation is by divine 
love and sacrifice. 

The evangelical appeal is associated with all 
biblical teaching. From Genesis to Kevelation this 
appeal glows like the radiance of a summer sun- 
set. Yea, rather, it glows like the coming of the 
morning when the night is far spent. Assured by 
divine love, comforted in our own salvation, be it 
remembered that the gospel of Jesus Christ will 
prevail over sin. Sin is to be forever disassociated 
with the human family. The process of redemp- 
tion shall, some sweet day, reach its last stage of 
advance. There shall come the final, the un- 
broken victory of the divine compassion over hu- 
man obduracy. 

56 



The Love of God 

God addresses his own mighty love to the 
building again of all shattered strength; the 
restoration of all beauty that may have been 
erased. Where sin has abounded and destroyed 
the divine likeness, putting good name and char- 
acter under eclipse, the almighty love of God can 
yet restore the lost lineaments of beauty. Whoso 
publisheth this gospel of redeeming love is mov- 
ing in the direction of the divine intent. God has 
set his heart upon the salvation of the world. 
He spared not his own Son, that the work might be 
victoriously consummated. He lays hold upon all 
types and varieties of dedicated personality, in 
order that by all sorts of agencies and ministries 
the controlling movement of our generation may 
be in the direction of this his holy purpose. With 
what glad abandonment shall we give ourselves to 
this royal proclamation. How shall we hasten to 
pass the good news to the one who may be standi 
ing next to us, and then, uniting heart to heart, 
offering to offering, service to service, contribute 
to the speedy publication of this divine love in the 
ear of every wandering and erring son of man. 

Let us be cheered in the thought that we have 
not a High Priest that cannot be touched with a 

57 



The Love of God 

feeling of our infirmities. He knows them, he 
feels them, but he loves us still. Our broken and 
contrite hearts find in him always a friend that 
sticketh closer than a brother. We may safely 
cast all our care upon him, for he careth for us. 
This evangelical love, tenderness, and hopefulness 
appeals to the universal heart of the race. It is 
the divine answer to the sad heart's cry in every 
zone, under every government. Effort in obedi- 
ence to this divine love, and its publication, brings 
one in touch with evangelical power. Hence ap- 
peal, hence call for decision, surrender, action, 
now. God alone can recreate the soul. Man can- 
not make whole a broken vase, but God can save 
his wandering child. 



58 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Love of God and the Unevangelized 
Would. 

"Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were 
strangers in the land of Egypt" (Deut. 10: 19). 

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself' 
(Matt. 19:19). 

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done 
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye 
have done it unto me" (Matt. 25 : 40). 

"Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was 
neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 
And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Go, 
and do thou likewise" (Luke 10 : 36, 37). 

"And the Lord made you to increase and abound 
in love one toward another, and toward all men, 
even as we do toward you" (I. Thes. 3 : 12). 

There is a pathetic reasonableness in the propo- 
sition that the love of God, so saving, comforting, 

59 



The Love of God 

helpful, and free, shall be heralded to the ear of 
the entire population of the globe within the pres- 
ent generation. The heathen world is sadder than 
we know. There is a sadness everywhere. Turn 
to the right or to the left in our own beloved land, 
and we find the evidences of human sorrow; but 
when we consider the infinite ministry of comfort 
on account of assurance, immortality, and eternal 
life, as we know it in Jesus Christ, we can readily 
imagine what must be the condition of the world 
that is a stranger to all this divine comfort. The 
appeal of eight hundred millions of the world's 
population, who are related by the ties of uni- 
versal kinship to those of us who have been en- 
lightened in the gospel, must ever be regarded as 
tender and pathetic. Who of us ever entered into 
their world and sat down by their cheerless hearth- 
stone and tried to appreciate the weird loneliness 
of a life without knowledge of God ? Who of us, 
in imagination, ever put ourselves in their stead, 
until we could feel the thick darkness that must 
ever surround the life that has not felt the touch 
of the Christ ? We can think of nothing that must 
so thoroughly appeal to the heart of the enlight- 
ened man or woman who has even a slight measure 

60 



The Love of God 

of human tenderness as this vast multitude who 
wander on aimless, solitary, and comfortless, wait- 
ing the end of life without a ray of hope. When 
we stop to consider the light that has fallen across 
our pathway, are we not constrained by the ten- 
derer impulses of our natures to raise the ques- 
tion, whether the enlightened people of this gen- 
eration are enlisted as they should be for the 
telling of the love of God throughout the world ? 

Ours is a double danger: First, the danger of 
sinning against the light, that becomes almost 
blinding in its fullness when we sin against it. 
Then the failure to rise up as the sons of light and 
project it upon the darkness that belts the globe 
to-day. Failure here will be the invitation of our 
own doom, the coming of our own destruction. 
Many mighty works were done by Christ in certain 
cities of the Holy Land, which, if they had been 
done in other cities, would have brought the peo- 
ple to deepest repentance. It is, therefore, a serious 
question as to what we owe the world — we in 
America, in Great Britain, and elsewhere, where 
the gospel has been the inheritance of the cen- 
turies. There is a debt here more all-command- 
ing, more all-searching than many know. 

61 



The Love of God 

It is an infinite honor that Christ has tarried in 
our homes and spoken in loving ministry to our 
lives. No land or no individual can ever be the 
same after Christ has been in the midst. How in- 
tolerable our guilt, if we shall, from the exalted 
altitude where our privileges have carried us, be 
remiss and indifferent in the recognition of the 
obligations that we owe to millions that have not 
heard of the Christ. The Christian world adds 
to its already fabulous wealth each year by almost 
countless millions. Our colleges and schools, with 
our churches, are giving to the world an army of 
splendid personalities, who may become the agents 
of transmitting the knowledge of Christ from the 
centers of Christian influence and power to the 
remotest rim of the world's population. The 
light, the life, the intelligence of Christendom is 
congested in its great centers, whereas if it were 
properly diffused, it would illuminate all the dark, 
neglected places of the earth, within the present 
generation. 

Since we have reason to believe that the grace 
of God in Jesus Christ is a fundamental element, 
not only in individual character-building, but in 
bringing the family of man into those relations 

62 



The Love of God 

and associations that foster his highest good and 
guarantee his hopeful progress, how reasonable it 
is to expect that we should regard the duty of 
evangelizing the world as the great overmastering 
.issue of the hour and of the age. 

We have often tried to imagine the kind of im- 
pression that is strongest in the heathen world, 
touching the lands that are embraced in so-called 
Christendom. Some of these from afar who have 
visited our shores testify to the wonder and ad- 
miration created by the appliances and products 
of our complex civilization. They are impressed 
with our great cities, the buildings of which tower 
skyward to a dizzy height. They are impressed 
with our railways that bind the continent with 
bands of steel. They are impressed with our 
wealth and the luxuries which, on account of our 
wealth, are the common possession of our favored 
people. All of these impressions, however, are but 
superficial. They do not touch the heart of the 
world's greatest need. Material prosperity, ma- 
terial development, are good in their place, but 
back of them all, underneath them all, is the in- 
finite potency of our spiritual life. Though our 
civilization must make apology for various ex- 

63 



The Love of God 

erescences that belong not to the heart of it, it 
nevertheless is true that our Occidental civilization 
is built upon a great fundamental and all-support- 
ing element, which may be defined as Christian 
conscience and Christian character. Christian 
character holds up and makes possible the confi- 
dence of the world in our commercial transac- 
tions. It makes strong our leadership in church 
and state. It begets the ever-rising ideals of our 
social, ecclesiastical, and civic life. It is this that, 
underlies our civilization which the heathen world 
most needs to-day. So that, hand in hand with 
our approaches for commerce, with all sorts of in.. 
struction and information, must go the more; 
subtle and the more potent touch of that divine 
influence which begets spiritual and Christliktn 
character in the children of men. In short, the 
tremendous power of our Christian civilization 
should not only arouse the wonder and admiration 
of heathen peoples, but also lead them to peni- 
tence for individual spiritual deformity. We must 
make them conscious, by holding up before them 
the mirror of the gospel, of those divine concep- 
tions of life and character which, when wrought 
out in parental love and life, not only create the 

64 



The Love of God 

home, but envelop it in the atmosphere of redemp- 
tive constractiveness. 

Illuminated life was never as responsible as 
now. The reasons are abundant and self-evident. 
The general advancement of the world is such that 
it stands in relationships so intricate, so inter- 
woven, as to bind it into a oneness of destiny, prog- 
ress, and power. The blood that vitalizes any part 
of the race's organism to-day must rapidly make 
its way throughout the whole body. No portion 
of the race can claim inherent superiority over any 
other portion. The love of God, life under that 
love, in the pursuit of usefulness and happiness, 
are the common rights, in God's thought, for all 
men. To carry this ideal into the realm of actual 
conquest is the task of the present enlightened and 
Christian generation. How dare we who are the 
daughters and sons of light be recreant to so high 
and holy a trust? Do we feel tingling through 
every atom of our personality the thrill of an 
abundant desire which shall lead us to carry unto 
every tribe of our lost race the glorious germinal 
forces of the Word of God? Everywhere truth 
burns for publicity. It refuses to lie in a napkin. 
It insists on being incarnate and living out, and 

5 65 



The Love of God 

into, and through all human personality. It in- 
sists that if we have knowledge, we shall make it 
known to the ignorant. If we have the divine 
love, we shall, in deepest tenderness, publish it to 
those who have been strangers to it. 

Paul announced himself a debtor to the bar- 
barians, not a debtor on account of anything he 
had received from them, but a debtor because of 
what he had received from God, and they had not. 
His great personality had been smitten in the 
noonday brightness as he traveled on an errand of 
hate. He had been lifted up into a new life of 
love and hope. He had become imbued with evan- 
gelistic zeal. There was a flame in his heart that 
refused to be smothered. It was born to consume 
his life and project it with holy fervency and 
Christlike zeal upon the barbarians who had, in 
no sense, ministered to him. It is evident, there- 
fore, that upon the shoulders of this generation 
there devolves a responsibility peculiarly our own ; 
a responsibility which we need to recognize with 
ever-increasing keenness; a responsibility which 
must impel us to take up not only the black man's 
burden, but every man's burden, and commend 
it to the infinite ministries of God's love. TEe 



GG 



The Love of God 

gospel of Christ applied, actually believed, and 
effectively carried into heathenism, will lift up the 
millions who dwell in degradation. Because the 
gospel has this power of elevation, and because in 
transmitting it we elevate ourselves, the highest 
wisdom, the most humane philanthropy, the pro- 
foundest statesmanship, all unite in prompting us 
to make known now the love of God throughout an 
unevangelized world. Let the good news be her- 
alded, for beyond that heralding God has in store 
infinite progress in the ages to. come. 



67 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Love of God ik Christian Experience. 

"And to know the love of Christ which passeth 
knowledge" (Eph. 3: 19). 

"The love of God is shed abroad in our Tiearts 
by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Rom. 
5:5). 

"But woe unto you, Pharisees ! For ye tithe the 
mint and rue and every herb, and pass over judg- 
ment and the love of God; but these ought ye to 
have done, and not to leave the other undone" 
(Luke 11:42). 

"O Christ, thy love is mighty ; 

Long-suffering is thy grace ; 
And glorious is the splendor 

That beameth from thy face. 
Our hearts upleap in gladness 

When we behold that love, 
As we go singing onward 

To dwell with thee above." 

The love of God poured forth — oh, glorious 
mystery ! Oh, glorious potency ! Poured forth in 

68 



The Love of God 

gracious abundance; no stinting, no measuring,, 
no limitation, save as imposed by the obdurate will 
of man. Poured forth as abundant waters over 
parched ground. Poured forth on account of the 
finished work of our Lord. Poured forth in the 
love of Christ that passeth knowledge. Poured 
forth in loving persuasion to win the sinner from 
the way that leads to death. Poured forth in the 
experience of the penitent, until his joy and assur- 
ance are abounding. 

( The love of God poured forth in our hearts, 
'what a treasure for such a receptacle ! God's love 
for the human nature, and human nature for the 
love of God. God's love for the heart, and the 
heart for God's love. Here is union and fellow- 
ship of the sublimest order. The heart of men re- 
lated to the love of God poured forth; the hearty 
so empty, so proud, so vain, so self-centered, so 
obdurate, so prone to wander from God. Into such 
an undeserving heart as this the love of God is 
poured forth, if the heart but seek for and cry unto 
him. Oh, miracle of love ! Oh, wonder of grace I 
Poured forth in the heart to make it tender and 
sympathetic, to sanctify and steady it. Poured 
forth in the heart to fit it to be the ally of Christ 

69 



The Love of God 

in the rescue of a lost race. Poured forth in the 
heart to enable it to take up the burdens of oth- 
ers. Poured forth in the heart to illuminate it, 
and give it power to triumph over its own narrow- 
ness; to make it calm and trustful in time of 
trouble; to make it joyful in tribulation. Poured 
forth in the heart as its own greatest need. Poured 
forth in the heart, thereby making connection be- 
tween the Infinite and the finite, between the 
Creator and the creature. Poured forth in the 
heart, uniting strength with weakness. 

Poured forth in our hearts through the Holy 
Spirit given unto us; we are surely ascending in 
the climax. The love of God poured forth — in 
our hearts — through the Holy Spirit — given unto 
us. Each step in the climax points back to the 
finished work of the cross. All this precious ex- 
perience through the Holy Spirit, a gift. In the 
language of Dr. Eichard S. Storrs : "It is through 
the intimate, personal operation of the Spirit of 
God, by his indwelling light and grace shed abroad 
in the souls of them that believe, that the heart is 
discharged of selfishness and sin, and is filled with 
the holy beauty and triumph of a supreme virtue. 
The truth is his instrument, but only the instru- 

70 



The Love of God 

nient. The essential power through which this 
amazing change is wrought is that same energy of 
the Holy Ghost by which prophets and apostles 
were inspired, which in the Lord was ever re- 
vealed. It reaches the inmost springs of life; 
turns gloom to gladness/ passion to peace; till the 
soul becomes a temple alight with love, ringing 
with praise, the breath of constant supplication 
filling it as with incensed air." 

The 'Holy Spirit is the medium through whom 
the experience of the love of God is manifest. 
The love of God reaches our spirit through the 
Holy Spirit. Because Christ came, the Holy 
Spirit has come, and his revelation is that which 
the world most needs — an individual experience 
of the love of God. Every son and daughter of 
Adam's race may know the love of God experi- 
mentally. We are conscious of a universe about 
us, and should be equally conscious of God within 

us. 

"Since the day I called thee mine, 
Since the answer, *I am thine/- 
Sweetly have I walked between 
Waters still and pastures green; 
Soft thine hand upon my brow, 
I the sheep, — the shepherd, thou." 

The love of God in the soul begets love to God 

71 



The Love of God 

and to fellow-men. It may be truthfully said that 
every virtue of the Christian character is pro- 
duced by the inflowing and abiding love of God. 
No sooner does the divine love flow into the heart, 
than straightway that heart, like good ground, be- 
gins to produce, some thirty, some sixty, some a 
hundredfold, in the graces of Christian character. 
The love of God in the soul acts and reacts. It 
acts on the individual heart in assurance of par- 
don and salvation. It reacts outwardly in the 
abundant activities of the Christian life and serv- 
ice. God's love plays into and through the saved 
soul. The Christian becomes the channel through 
whom the divine love shines forth in the life of 
practical Christian ministry. This relates the love 
of God to all the philanthropy of the world. It 
relates it to all the virtues of the individual char- 
acter. Obedience to the comprehensive command- 
ments of Jesus, including full abandonment to 
him, is the condition on which we may abide in 
the love of God. Let us be careful lest we for- 
feit at this point, and then wonder at our loss of 
power for service. Our whole life must be planted 
in this all-important condition of successful or 
God-honoring service. It sometimes occurs that 

72 



The Love of God 

the service of one wholly abandoned to Christ is 
not successful as the world considers success ; but, 
no matter, for the eye of God is on his own, and he 
is the final judge of all success. Any soul who 
opens the door to the inflowing and outflowing 
tides of the love of God will have a truly success- 
ful life. They never fail who submit their lives 
to Jesus Christ. The principle of true success, 
fidelity, is shown in the following lines : 

"The glorious sun 
Stays in his course, and plays the alchemist; 
Turning, with splendor in his precious eye, 
The meager, cloddy earth to glittering gold." 

The realization of the love of God is one of the 
sweetest experiences of the Christian life. To this 
fact all Christians can give testimony. Certain 
scriptures express the glow of the soul under this 
realization. "Thou, Lord, art a God full of 
compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plen- 
teous in mercy and truth" (Ps. 86:15). "The 
Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and 
plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: 
neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath 
not dealt with us after our sins ; nor rewarded us 
according to our iniquities" (Ps. 103: 8, 9). Are 
we in sorrow? the Lord's compassions overflow 



The Love of God 

toward us. Are we in temptation ? God graciously 
comes to our aid. Do we make mistakes? he is 
lovingly patient. If we have sinned, God is plen- 
teous in mercy. The love of God is for the ad- 
vantage of those who put their trust in him. Spur- 
geon said that there are shades in the light of 
divine love — "compassion upon suffering, grace 
toward unworthiness, longsuffering to provocation, 
mercy toward sin, truth toward the promise." In 
Christian experience all the good things of the di- 
vine love become blessedly real. 

The realization of the love of God causes men 
to have large hope for their straying fellow-men. 
Nothing like it to keep one from souring and with- 
drawing interest in his fellows. It is the only 
antidote for the acid that sometimes creeps into 
one's nature, and which is so destructive of one's 
good influence. We must persist ever in having 
large faith in men, and, as nearly as may be, in 
all men. As soon as we cease to love men, that 
moment we cease to help them. Love for men and 
ability to help them are always coexistent in hu- 
man experience and possibility. Under our keen- 
est realizations of the love of God to us we shall 
find our strongest feelings of love toward all men 

74 



The Love of God 

everywhere. Our own sense of unworthiness is 
greatest when; our realization of divine love is 
greatest. When men have but little love for their 
fellow-men, and but little interest in their spir- 
itual welfare, we must conclude that they are in 
no personal realization of the love of God to them. 
The thorough realization of the love of God is 
most potent in bringing life under the principles 
of Christian service. Many men who are theoret- 
ically Christians are practically infidels. No man 
really believes anything until his whole life is 
dominated by his belief. The fundamental prin- 
ciple of Christian service, and of all profitable life, 
is self-sacrifice for the good of others. Any man 
who violates this great principle throws himself 
athwart the inflexible laws of all really useful liv- 
ing. Kindred to the principle of self-sacrifice is 
that of giving the kingdom of God and its pro- 
motion first place in our plans, first place in our 
money, and first place in our motives. This in- 
volves the complete dedication of one's self to 
Christ and such a life as he would have us live. 
The fast and full hold of these great principles on 
the people of the present generation is a thing 
greatly needed. This would work a mighty revo- 



The Love of God 

lution in our present-day civilization and would at 
once project the great resources of Christendom on 
an nnevangelized world. It would make a radical 
change in the treatment which many so-called 
Christian men give to the various appeals that 
come to them for the financial support of Chris- 
tian enterprises of all sorts. 

It is a master-stroke of Satan to lead the pro- 
fessed disciple of Christ to be miserly and un- 
christian in his support of Christian enterprises 
with his money. Every evil cause to-day recog- 
nizes the great power of money to promote the ends 
which they desire. All sorts of evil and question- 
able enterprises command almost unlimited sums 
of money, while some would-be Christians seem to 
look upon any appeal to their purse for Christian 
work as being a sort of sanctified robbery. All 
this needs to be changed, and the sooner the better 
for the world and the cause of Christ. ye men 
of means, who stint God's cause, how dwelleth the 
love of God in you ? A full realization of the di- 
vine love makes a man have pure joy in giving. 
The love of God in the heart means the kind of 
giving which Paul referred to when he said, "God 
loveth the hilarious giver." May God multiply 

76 



The Love of God 

this sort of giver in the length and breadth of 
Christendom, until the various appeals for God's 
money are not reckoned as begging for that which 
may be grudgingly given. 



77 



CHAPTEE X. 
The Love op God and the Chubch. 

"The Lord loveth the gates of Zion" (Ps. 87: 

2). 

"The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, a 
mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over 
thee with joy, he will rest in his love; he will joy 
over thee with singing" (Zeph. 3: 17). 

"Christ also loved the church, and gave himself 
for it ; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it 
by the washing of water with the word; that he 
might present the church to himself a glorious 
church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such 
thing; but that it should be holy and without 
blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27). 

The church invisible is made up of those who, 
by the spiritual birth, have become members of 
God's spiritual family. They are begotten by the 
Spirit through the washing of regeneration and 

78 



The Love of God 

the renewing of the Holy Ghost. The Lord is 
immanent in his church. The Lord is in the midst 
of Zion, a mighty One who will save — a mighty 
One who will save in the midst of the church. 
What distinction is here? The church is the 
greatest constructive moral force in the world. It 
has been said of the church, "God is in the midst 
of her; she shall not be moved. God shall help 
her, and that right early." The sons and daugh- 
ters of the church are to come from the ends of 
the earth. The life of the church is to abound 
and take in all the peoples of the earth. Concern- 
ing the church, Isaiah says, "This people have I 
formed for myself; they shall show forth my 
praise." 

The love of God determines the function of the 
church. The church exists to save. This fact 
calls for emphasis in every age. It is not a narrow 
view of the church's function. It does indicate 
what should be the all-dominating conception in 
the mind of the church itself. This conception is 
broad enough to embrace all the variety of the 
church's ministry and influence. This preeminent 
function of the church should blaze out in char- 
acters of flame over every assembly of believers. 

79 



The Love of God 

God's love determines the motive of the church. 
This fact places the church upon an elevated plane 
peculiar to itself. It entails unusual responsi- 
bility, while it also guarantees unusual power. 
Since the motive of the church is determined by 
the love of God, it is self-evident that all the 
varied activities of the church should come under 
the dominance of this sublime and Ghristlike emo- 
tion. Seeking to save, must not alone be said of 
the church's Lord; it must be said of the church 
herself. The fact that the motive of the church 
is love, places it in a unique relation to all classes 
and types of men. Peculiar responsibilities fol- 
low, while the way is not always free from dan- 
ger — danger lest through the weakness of human 
nature the church fall from its high estate and its 
exalted motive to the plane of the social club or 
any mere human organization. But so long as the 
church abides in the love of God as its indwelling 
power, it is safe from inherent weaknesses and 
potent in loving ministries. Any being or organi- 
zation governed by such a motive as this will al- 
ways have a certain kind of welcome to the human 
heart. 

God's love determines the atmosphere and 

80 



The Love of God 

temper of the church. The atmosphere of the 
world is not love, for, in good part, the world is 
governed by hate. This is not because there are 
not good people in the world, nor yet because there 
are not good aspirations in the hearts of those who 
are not living a Christian life, but because civiliza- 
tion, in its movements toward brotherhood, is 
hampered by the natural weaknesses of the race. 
On this account progress is slow. In the midst of 
this dearth of love, as characterizing the dealings 
of men with one another, the Lord God has set up 
a kingdom and established a church which, accord- 
ing to his order and plan, has no real life save as 
it lives in the atmosphere of love and sympathy. 
Such an atmosphere as this begets hope in the 
hearts of men and women who may have, for one 
reason or another, lost place among the ranks of 
those who abide in the love and will of God. It 
begets faith in the hearts of those who have gone 
far away from childhood's innocence and sweet 
confidence. It begets expectation of good from 
God on the part of those who have almost been 
ready to believe that God was their enemy. In the 
light of the foregoing it is evident that when the 
church, either in its ministry or laity, engages in 

6 81 



The Love of God 

any sort of effort, either aggressive or defensive, 
there shall be a lack of power save as there is 
recognition of this truth. 

The love of God determines the church's capac- 
ity for service. The church, like her Lord, is in 
the world to serve. He that will be greatest among 
you, let him be servant of all. This service cannot 
be rendered in its multiplied forms unless there 
be great love in the hearts of those who serve. 
Perhaps in no age have such demands come upon 
the church as in this one. The question is often' 
raised, whether the church has capacity and re- 
source adequate to the tremendous demands that 
are made of her. But since divine love determines 
the church's ability for service, where shall we 
place the limitation? Where shall we say, Thus 
far and no farther ? At home and abroad, every- 
where and all around, are fields white to harvest. 
The doors are everywhere ajar, and if it were not 
for the omnipotence of love the church would 
fail, yea, the race itself would fail. As it is, if 
the church shall abide in this source of power, if 
she refuse to stop short of the fullest realizations 
of God's perfect love, she shall minister in abun- 
dant efficiency. She will, by her good works, stop 



The Love of God 

the months of gainsayers and critics. She will lift 
the world upward into realms of hope and recover 
the race from its awful despair. 

God's love assures the church's present, continu- 
ous, and ultimate triumph. The church is not to 
triumph for her own sake. She triumphs for the 
sake of men. She triumphs in the beneficent plan 
of God toward all men. The church's present tri- 
umph is assured because she is the exponent of the 
infinite love. Back of her frailties, her haltings 
and weaknesses, is the unfailing love of God, like 
a great power-house giving out in all directions the 
life-giving current. Judged by what we see in 
any passing hour, we might be tempted to say the 
church will fail of her mission, or beholding some 
evidences of love's decay, of formality where we 
had a right to expect spirituality, we may become 
discouraged. Let it, however, be remembered that 
over and above all human agency, and circumvent- 
ing all human weakness, moves the all-conquering 
purposes of a loving providence toward the joy- 
ful consummation. The eddies that we note in 
the stream of ecclesiastical life do not indicate 
that the mighty stream of spiritual life and power 
has ceased to flow. On the contrary, first, last, and 

83 



The Love of God 

always let it be in our thought and faith that be- 
cause of God's infinite love and grace the church is 
assured of present and continuous triumph, 
finally, let it be said, lest our hearts sometimes 
,grow faint, that the church is bound to win. This 
is as sure as the immutable promises of God. Let 
no distressed or downcast Christian worker ever 
give up to the thought that, after all, the cause of 
love and truth may be lost. It shall not be so. 
At the last, we shall find God's throne set up for- 
ever. We shall find that love and mercy have tri- 
umphed, and that the race has been restored to 
holiness and God. 

God's love broods over the church in exultant 
joyfulness. "He will rest in his love, he will joy 
over thee with singing." This beautiful language 
expresses the emotion of Jehovah toward his 
church. Singing stands for the unspoken and un- 
speakable jubilee of the heart. The deepest feel- 
ings are inexpressible. As a very correct transla- 
tion would give it, God is silent in his love as in 
unutterable delight over love's triumph. Love de- 
lights in expression, in manifestation, but in its 
great depth there is the indefinable, the inexpress- 
ible. Think of all this being applied to the heart 

84 



The Love of God 

of the Infinite One as he joys and rejoices over sin- 
ners who repent and over millions who are saved. 
But there is another beautiful significance here. 
God silent in his love. He might often fittingly 
speak and censure us for our sinfulness, but he 
does not even mention our sins; they have been 
all taken away by the provision of an infinite 
grace, by the sacrifice of God's beloved Son. By 
all the struggles of a true heart Godward they 
have all disappeared. God proposes to love us 
with a love that will mention our sins against us 
no more forever. 

How the heart bounds with joy in view of the 
fact that a knowledge of God is our glorious in- 
heritance. While the shadows hang dark and dis- 
mal over so many millions to-day, ours is the land 
of light. Here, speaking in every institution that 
touches us from the cradle to the grave, is the voice 
of the cross, the language of Calvary. God's love 
and the church, — thank Heaven, these are forever 
associated and interdependent. The church, de- 
fective, often slow-going, often lacking in heart 
and purpose, yet the object of divine compassion; 
borne with by his infinite sympathy and inspired to 
serve according to his glorious purpose. Let the 

85 



The Love of God 

language of the prophet thrill us as we note his 
beautiful words addressed to the Zion of God, 
"Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory 
of the Lord is risen upon thee." With such in- 
finite relationships, with such guarantees of power, 
with such provisions for reinforcement in service, 
the church ought always to stand forth with its 
message of persuasion and invitation. When the 
power of invitation: shall have passed out of the 
heart of the church, when the urgency of appeal 
shall have disappeared from her class- and prayer- 
meetings, the world will have but little for which 
to hope. Through the mercy of God, we may ex- 
pect that such a day will never come in the history 
of the church. It is the church's exalted privilege 
and function to cry ever in the ears of the thought- 
less multitude, "Whosoever will, let him take the. 
water of life freely." 



86 



CHAPTEE XL 

The Love of God and Prayer. 

"Now I beseech yon, brethren, by our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that 
ye strive together in your prayers to God for me" 
(Eom. 15:30). 

God is love, and therefore men ought always 
and everywhere to pray unto him. In some form 
or other, all men do pray. It is not always with 
thought of prayer, but even wish, desire, aspira- 
tion are prayer; not in the highest or most de- 
sirable form, grant you, but prayer, nevertheless. 
The highest aspirations of prayer are possible only 
to one who has been instructed in the Bible. It 
follows, therefore, that a very large portion of the 
population of the globe are now quite apart from 
this most exalted and delightful privilege. We 
who have been enlightened by the Scriptures from 
our youth should test to the fullest this open door 
of power and blessing. God graciously invites our 

87 



The Love of God 

petitions for our own personal salvation and in 
behalf of others. No one should hesitate when the 
door of mercy stands ever ajar and the air is laden 
with sweet invitations. 

All who have experienced the love of God are 
quite inclined to return that love by exercising the 
holy office of prayer in behalf of others. There is 
always in the world an inner circle of supplicants 
who are in fellowship by the love of the spirit. 
By the divine love which they have come to know 
so blessedly they are prepared to strive in prayer 
to God. Having learned to repose upon the love 
of God in all the circumstances of life, they are 
prompted to prayer as naturally as the child nes- 
tles in the arms of the parent when danger threat- 
ens. They are inwardly assured that God hears 
and answers prayer. They grow daily in this as- 
surance, though they do not always receive the an- 
swer they expect. They rest in the persuasion that 
in his own wise and loving way the Father answers 
the most humble petition. To rest in this sweet 
and comforting faith is to have attained a high 
type of spiritual character. The life comes to 
abounding strength that reaches this stone in the 
steps heavenward. Here the soul rests, and serves 

88 



The Love of God 

while it rests, and all life's work is wrought in the 
presence of the adorable Lord. The days as they 
pass are doxologies, and the heart sings its song of 
trust through every dark way. 

Striving together in prayer to God through the 
love of the Spirit suggests the fraternity of those 
who are bound together by the bonds of heaven- 
inspired supplication. It suggests the glorious 
triumph of the congregation, the assembly of be- 
lievers, the companies and circles of those who are 
made kindred in the Lord. 

The love of God forbids coldness in the church. 
It is the occasion of fervency and warm-hearted- 
ness. It means earnestness, intensity, enthusiasm, 
whole-heartedness. For the church thus imbued 
and empowered, it means victory and eminent ef- 
ficiency in soul-winning. No mistake; if the 
church be thus tempered to-day it becomes, there- 
by, an invincible host, and will prove its potency 
in the salvation of the multitudes. The church is 
bound to conquer by love. The church is certain 
to triumph as it shall strive together in prayer. 
Prayer saves from weakness and barrenness. It 
empowers for fruitful service in behalf of erring 
humanity. It guarantees income from spiritual 

89 



The Love of God 

ministries of every variety. "He that goeth forth 
and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubt- 
less come again with rejoicing, bringing his 
sheaves with him." 

The praying spirit promotes the working spirit. 
The church or the individual that enters upon this 
life of intercessory prayer cannot but be abundant 
in labors. If we shall truly pray the Lord of the 
harvest to thrust forth laborers, we shall most as- 
suredly offer ourselves for God's service. This is 
always the result. No true prayer without personal 
dedication of one ? s self for the will of the loving 
Christ. Aggressiveness is greatly needed in all 
the realms of Christendom at this present hour. 
The enemies of righteousness are on the alert and 
tireless in effort. Wickedness is defiant and boast- 
ful. The hosts of God-loving and man-loving peo- 
ple need to stand forth in a new aggressiveness 
that shall thrill the world with its very daring. 
This is the age for great plans touching the ex- 
tension of the kingdom of God and great dedica- 
tions of persons and resources so that great plans 
may be carried out. No weakling should be at the 
front in any department of Christian activity. 
It is the hour for brave and large-hearted men in 

90 



The Love of God 

the pulpit and in the pew. The love of God im- 
pels to bravery and heroism. This love purposes 
to win the world, and God-fearing men and 
women should see to it that no human impedi- 
ment delays the glorious consummation. 
- Love is aggressive because it is love. It never 
fails. It has a message of welcome when all 
rights have been forfeited. It holds on in per- 
sistent hopefulness and insists on rescue even at 
the last moment. It importunes, it pleads, it for- 
sakes never, and waits for the first cry of the peni- 
tent heart. matchless eternal Love, we would 
hasten to embrace thee and abide in thee forever. 
The church loses the capacity for aggressive- 
ness when it loses the power of intercessory 
prayer. Nourishing and maintaining the spirit 
of prayer, the church can but be aggressive. Per- 
sonally, the writer deplores the far too prevalent 
tendency to displace the service of actual prayer 
by long talks from the pastor or some other 
worker. If we had churches that prayed more, 
what they uttered would have far better effect. 
The spirit of true supplication compels a church 
to rise up with a burden of testimony that the 
present age needs very much to hear and the 

91 



The Love of God 

church needs very much to give. It is to be de- 
plored that the voice of testimony has almost 
passed from our church gatherings. The world 
never needed so much as now a witnessing church 
to impress it with the reality of supernatural 
grace and power. 

"I asked for grace to lift me high 

Above the world's depressing cares ; 
God sent me sorrows ; with a sigh 

I said, 'He has not heard my prayers.' 

"I asked for light, that I might see 
My path along life's thorny road ; 
But clouds and darkness shadowed me 
When I expected light from God. 

"I asked for peace, that I might rest 
To think my sacred duties o'er, 
When lo ! such horrors filled my breast 
As I had never felt before. 

"And, oh, I cried, 'Can this be prayer 

Whose plaints the steadfast mountains move? 
Can this be Heaven's prevailing care ; 
And, O my God, is this thy love?' 

"But soon I found that sorrow, worn 
As duty's garment, strength supplies, 
And out of darkness meekly borne 
Unto the righteous light doth rise. 

"And soon I found that fears which stirr'd 
My startled soul God's will to do, 
On me more real peace conferr'd 
Than in life's calm I ever knew. 



92 



The Love of God 

"Then, Lord, in thy mysterious ways 
Lead my dependent spirit on, 
And whensoe'er it kneels and prays, 
Teach it to say, 'Thy will be done V 

"Let its one thought, one hope, one prayer, 
Thine image seek — thy glory see; 
Let every other wish and care 
Be left confidingly to thee !" 



93 



CHAPTEE XII. 

The Benediction. 

"The Lord direct your hearts into the love of 
God" (II. Thes. 3:5). 

Having come to the last chapter of this book, 
what shall be the result of our meditiations ? 

"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is 
the love of God perfected: hereby know we that 
we are in him" (I. John 2:5). 

God will direct our hearts into his love if we 
will but yield ourselves in unquestioning obe- 
dience to him. The divine Word makes plain 
what this obedience must involve. The results of 
this obedience have been illustrated again and 
again in the exalted character of those who have 
surrendered themselves thereto. They have on 
this account been enabled to make the best pages 
of human history. They have laid deep and abid- 
ing the foundations of our Christian civilization. 

94 



The Love of God 

When our hearts have been led into the love of 
God, obedience to him is no irksome task, for we 
soon learn that his love and his law are synony- 
mous, in reality and essence. 

The divine law is ever and always the output 
of the divine affection. Love is not always ap- 
parent in the law, but we can rest assured that it 
is always there. This fact should be borne in 
mind when the question of keeping God's word 
is brought before us. This consideration would 
seem to be sufficient to control the action of all 
rational creatures. Where the divine law seems 
to be arbitrary, it is not really so. Man becomes 
the subject of God's perfected love in the act of 
keeping his word. In certain stages of this won- 
derful experience our attitude is essentially an 
act. It seems clear that when we have the atti- 
tude of penitence before God on account of our 
sin and its wickedness in the presence of his re- 
deeming love, God reckons the attitude an act of 
obedience. Beyond the initial experience of the 
Christian life the conduct of the obedient soul is 
determined by the divine law. It is this obedience 
subsequent to regeneration that affords the con- 
dition for the perfecting of the divine love in the 

95 



The Love of God 

Individual experience. It is blessed to realize 
God's forgiving love, and beyond that to know 
his approving love. God's approval makes char- 
acter strong and aggressive. It means buoyancy 
of spirit in the presence of the depressing and the 
discouraging. Keeping the divine word is a safe 
place for human life, and guarantees the best for 
the world that now is and that which is to come. 

If we permit the Lord to direct our hearts into 
the love of God we shall come "to know the love 
of Christ that passeth knowledge/' With Christ 
as our pilot, let us go into the love of God as the 
ships go into the harbor. Harbored in this love, 
we find the hidings of power; we escape the toss- 
ing seas and all doubts as to our whereabouts and 
relationships; no more drifting with the tides, or 
surrender to merciless currents. Once harbored 
in the love of God we find outfit for true service. 
We are ready for assignment to any life-saving 
station, that we may rescue others whom storms 
assail. To know the love of Christ means that 
ever after we shall be life-savers. Harbored in 
the love of God, outfitted by grace and personal 
salvation, commissioned by the Captain of our 
salvation, who knows all about the storms that 

9G 



The Love of God 

rage across the seas over which all the race must 
pass, we cannot do less than give ourselves loving- 
ly to the work of rescue. May God multiply the 
rescuers and hasten them to the rescue. Millions 
are adrift in the pathless seas of paganism and 
heathenism. Our Lord would have them rescued. 
We must not fail of our full duty. We have been 
saved to serve. 

When the Lord directs our hearts into the love 
of God we come under control of the true law of 
service — "f or the love of Christ constraineth us." 
Here is the boundless resource of all the children 
of God. Here they refresh their wasting ener- 
gies ; here they renew their strength ; here they find 
a commission that sends them forth as messengers 
of light and salvation. Here is the sublime mo- 
tive of the universal church. Here is the noblest 
motive that can govern the life of any individual. 
He whom the love of the Christ doth constrain 
will be enabled to mightily serve his God and his 
generation. Here is the secret of the endurance, 
the patience, the fidelity, of the noble army of 
foreign missionaries who serve in their respective 
fields apart from the scenes and associations of 
native land and loving friends. The constraining 

7 97 



The Love of God 

love of Christ holds up the hearts of God's serv- 
ants everywhere. But for this constraint there 
would come ruinous flinching from the exactions 
of effort in behalf of those who are straying from 
the truth and the right. It is natural for the 
human heart to be selfish and ready to excuse 
itself from the call for self-sacrificing service on 
account of others. Christ's transforming love 
works the miracle of disinterestedness in the hu- 
man heart. 

Where the love of God is absent an undue love 
of the world is sure to be present. This is ruin- 
ous to high character and lowers the average 
grade-line of life. Our lives need to be freed 
from the enslavements of this material environ- 
ment. Nothing can do this but the love of God 
in individual realization. This realization makes 
us sensitive to our higher relationship and en- 
vironment. It calls us off from our prostrations 
before that which is of the earth only. It elevates 
life to the dignity which becomes our sonship in 
the divine family. We are born for the moun- 
tains, for the summits that are above the cloud 
line, for the regions of perpetual sunlight. Why 
should we be willing to inhabit miasmatic low- 

98 



The Love of God 

lands and plague-smitten districts ? Up and away 
to the heights where we may bathe in the light 
of the divine love. These heights are not so ele- 
vated as to be impracticable or visionary. They 
are aglow with the inspirations that make us the 
allies of all humanitarian and philanthropic en- 
terprises. They are voiceful with God's praise and 
human need. They cure us of lethargic and in- 
different living. They inspire us to walk in the 
footsteps of Him who went about doing good. 
They give the power of spiritual giants. They 
help us to walk worthy of our divine sonship. 

And now, finally, "The Lord direct your hearts 
into the love of God." "Keep yourselves in the 
love of God," for now abideth faith, hope, and 
love, but the greatest of these is love. Amen and 

amen. 

LofC. 



w 



SEP 4 



1901 



SEP 4 1902 
t copy net. to en ntv, 

'. 4 1902 
c 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



t 4 J 



